2025–26 Houston Cougars women's basketball team

2025–26 Houston Cougars women's basketball
2025–26 Houston Cougars women's basketball
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	7–18 (1–13 Big 12)
Head coach	Matthew Mitchell (1st season);
Associate head coach	Damitria Buchanan
Assistant coaches	Anthony Anderson; DeNesha Stallworth; Marqu'es Webb; Dominique Dillingham;
Home arena	Fertitta Center

2025–26 Big 12 women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 12 TCU	11	–	3	.786	23	–	4	.852
No. 15 Baylor	11	–	3	.786	22	–	5	.815
No. 19 West Virginia	11	–	4	.733	21	–	6	.778
No. 20 Texas Tech	10	–	4	.714	23	–	4	.852
Oklahoma State	10	–	5	.667	21	–	7	.750
Colorado	9	–	5	.643	18	–	8	.692
Arizona State	8	–	6	.571	21	–	6	.778
Iowa State	8	–	6	.571	20	–	6	.769
Utah	8	–	7	.533	17	–	10	.630
Kansas State	7	–	7	.500	14	–	13	.519
BYU	6	–	8	.429	17	–	9	.654
Kansas	6	–	9	.400	16	–	11	.593
Cincinnati	4	–	10	.286	9	–	17	.346
UCF	2	–	12	.143	10	–	15	.400
Arizona	2	–	12	.143	11	–	14	.440
Houston	1	–	13	.071	7	–	18	.280

† 2026 Big 12 tournament winner As of February 16, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

The 2025–26 Houston Cougars women's basketball team represents the University of Houston during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cougars, are led by first-year head coach Matthew Mitchell and play their home games at the Fertitta Center as members of the Big 12 Conference.

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2024–25 season 5–25, 1–17 in Big 12 play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round to Colorado in the Big 12 women's tournament.

Head Coach Ronald Hughey announced his resignation from Houston on March 6, 2025, after 11 seasons.^[1] The Cougars hired former Kentucky head coach Mitchell as his replacement on March 27.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Houston Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Leilani Augmon	0	G	5'11"	Senior	Orlando, FL	Graduated
Gia Cooke	3	G	5'9"	Sophomore	Clinton, MD	Transferred to West Virginia
Maliyah Johnson	5	F	6'0"	Senior	Columbus, OH	Graduated
Laila Blair	14	G	5'8"	Graduate Student	Houston, TX	Graduated
Tatiana Arevalo	20	G	5'9"	Sophomore	Frisco, TX	Walk-on; TBD
Kiera Edmonds	21	F	6'2"	Sophomore	Brooklyn, NY	Transferred to Boston College
Avalon Miller	22	F	6'3"	Senior	Salt Lake City, UT	Graduated
Eylia Love	24	G	6'1"	Senior	Kansas City, MO	Graduated
Ashley Chevalier	25	G	5'7"	Senior	Chatsworth, CA	Graduated
Peyton McFarland	42	F	6'4"	Graduate Student	Boise, ID	Graduated

Incoming

Houston incoming transfers
Name	Num	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
TK Pitts	0	G	6'1"	Junior	Tulsa, OK	SMU
Briana Peguero	1	G	5'7"	Graduate Student	Houston, TX	Troy
Kyndall Hunter	7	G	5'7"	Senior	Houston, TX	Texas A&M
Amani Bartlett	12	F	6'3"	Graduate Student	Cleveland, TX	LSU
Amirah Abdur-Rahim	23	F	6'3"	Graduate Student	Marietta, GA	Texas A&M
Shun'teria Anumele	24	G	5'8"	Sophomore	Houston, TX	Saint Louis
Jorynn Ross	26	F	6'3"	Junior	Milwaukee, WI	Arizona

Roster

2025–26 Houston Cougars women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	TK Pitts	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	So	Union HS SMU	Tulsa, OK
G	1	Briana Peguero	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	GS	Jersey Village HS Troy	Houston, TX
G	2	Kierra Merchant	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Jr	Westfield	Spring, TX
G	5	Kateri Poole	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	GS	South Shore LSU	Bronx, NY
G	7	Kyndall Hunter	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	RS Sr	Cypress Creek Texas A&M	Houston, TX
G	8	Summer Bostock	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Jr	King's Christian Collegiate Maryland	Toronto, ON
F	11	Jemma Hunter	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	Fr	Euroa Secondary College	Gold Coast, Australia
F	12	Amani Bartlett	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	GS	Houston Christian HS LSU	Cleveland, TX
F	14	Jade Jones	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	The King's Academy	Royal Palm Beach, FL
G	22	Kayla King	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Fr	Judson	San Antonio, TX
F	23	Amirah Abdur-Rahim	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	GS	St. Francis School Texas A&M	Marietta, GA
G	24	Shun'teria Anumele	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	So	Legacy Sports School of Sciences Saint Louis	Houston, TX
F	26	Jorynn Ross	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Jr	Summer Creek Arizona	Milwaukee, WI

Head coach

Matthew Mitchell (Mississippi State)

Assistant coach(es)

Damitria Buchanan (Texas A&M)
Anthony Anderson (FIU)
DeNesha Stallworth (Kentucky)
Marqu'es Webb (Vanderbilt)
Dominique Dillingham (Mississippi State)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

^[3]

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	UT Arlington	W 76–59	1–0	16 – Abdur-Rahim	9 – Jones	4 – Poole	Fertitta Center (1,025) Houston, TX
November 8, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	UTSA	W 52–48	2–0	21 – Merchant	11 – Abdur-Rahim	5 – Peguero	Fertitta Center (1,161) Houston, TX
November 11, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	Rice Rivalry	L 56–70	2–1	12 – Tied	14 – Merchant	2 – Tied	Fertitta Center (1,104) Houston, TX
November 17, 2025* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Stephen F. Austin	L 78–82	2–2	20 – K. Hunter	6 – Tied	2 – Tied	William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,182) Nacogdoches, TX
November 20, 2025* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at UT Rio Grande Valley	W 65–63	3–2	18 – Jones	8 – Jones	3 – Tied	UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,447) Edinburg, TX
November 23, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	High Point	W 67–57	4–2	18 – Merchant	12 – Jones	4 – Peguero	Fertitta Center (1,225) Houston, TX
November 28, 2025* 12:30 p.m., FloCollege	vs. Arkansas State Nassau Championship Goombay Division semifinals	L 66–83	4–3	12 – Pitts	10 – Merchant	4 – Tied	Baha Mar Convention Center (237) Nassau, The Bahamas
November 30, 2025* 10:00 a.m., FloCollege	vs. Tulsa Nassau Championship Goombay Division 3rd place game	W 66–61	5–3	17 – Pitts	8 – Pitts	4 – Peguero	Baha Mar Convention Center (227) Nassau, The Bahamas
December 7, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Southern	L 62–70	5–4	14 – K. Hunter	7 – Jones	6 – Pitts	Fertitta Center (985) Houston, TX
December 13, 2025* 8:00 p.m., MW Network	at New Mexico	L 41–63	5–5	10 – Merchant	8 – Jones	3 – Pitts	The Pit (4,467) Albuquerque, NM
December 16, 2025* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+	Montana	W 60–54	6–5	14 – Peguero	12 – Pitts	3 – Merchant	Fertitta Center (1,523) Houston, TX
Big 12 regular season
December 21, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at West Virginia	L 46–101	6–6 (0–1)	11 – Abdur-Rahim	7 – Merchant	2 – Abdur-Rahim	Hope Coliseum (3,968) Morgantown, WV
December 31, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 10 Iowa State	L 62–80	6–7 (0–2)	14 – Peguero	15 – Pitts	4 – Merchant	Fertitta Center (1,652) Houston, TX
January 3, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Oklahoma State	L 52–83	6–8 (0–3)	15 – Pitts	8 – Pitts	2 – Tied	Gallagher-Iba Arena (2,771) Stillwater, OK
January 7, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	Kansas State	L 62–71	6–9 (0–4)	16 – Pitts	8 – Abdur-Rahim	3 – Tied	Fertitta Center (1,395) Houston, TX
January 10, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	BYU	L 64–79	6–10 (0–5)	19 – K. Hunter	9 – Jones	3 – Tied	Fertitta Center (1,075) Houston, TX
January 13, 2026 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	at No. 17 Texas Tech	L 59–71	6–11 (0–6)	17 – Pitts	14 – Abdur-Rahim	2 – Tied	United Supermarkets Arena (5,003) Lubbock, TX
January 17, 2026 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Utah	L 61–71	6–12 (0–7)	14 – Pitts	9 – Jones	3 – Peguero	Fertitta Center (1,204) Houston, TX
January 21, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Kansas State	L 65–69	6–13 (0–8)	20 – K. Hunter	10 – Pitts	3 – Tied	Bramlage Coliseum (3,497) Manhattan, KS
January 27, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at No. 14 Baylor	L 66–82	6–14 (0–9)	17 – Abdur-Rahim	5 – Ross	7 – Peguero	Foster Pavilion (3,438) Waco, TX
February 1, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	Cincinnati	W 72–70	7–14 (1–9)	23 – K. Hunter	7 – Pitts	3 – K. Hunter	Fertitta Center (1,180) Houston, TX
February 4, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	at No. 14 TCU	L 45–90	7–15 (1–10)	12 – Merchant	4 – Pitts	3 – Peguero	Schollmaier Arena (2,968) Fort Worth, TX
February 7, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 18 Texas Tech	L 61–85	7–16 (1–11)	18 – Abdur-Rahim	7 – Abdur-Rahim	2 – Tied	Fertitta Center (1,910) Houston, TX
February 11, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	Colorado	L 63–73	7–17 (1–12)	21 – Peguero	8 – Pitts	3 – Pitts	Fertitta Center (976) Houston, TX
February 14, 2026 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Kansas	L 68–85	7–18 (1–13)	23 – Peguero	6 – Pitts	3 – Tied	Allen Fieldhouse (3,744) Lawrence, KS
February 18, 2026 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	No. 12 TCU						Fertitta Center Houston, TX
February 21, 2026 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Arizona State						Desert Financial Arena Tempe, AZ
February 24, 2026 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Arizona						McKale Center Tucson, AZ
March 1, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	UCF						Fertitta Center Houston, TX
Big 12 Conference Tournament
March 4–8, 2026 TBA	vs.						T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

^ "Hughey Resigns as Houston Women's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). March 6, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
^ "Matthew Mitchell Named Houston Women's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). Houston Cougars. March 27, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
^ "University of Houston Official Athletic Site :: Women's Basketball". Uhcougars.Com.

[1] "Hughey Resigns as Houston Women's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). March 6, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2025.

[2] "Matthew Mitchell Named Houston Women's Basketball Head Coach" (Press release). Houston Cougars. March 27, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025.

[3] "University of Houston Official Athletic Site :: Women's Basketball". Uhcougars.Com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

Houston Cougars women's basketball
Venues	Fertitta Center (1975–2017; 2018–present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Rice
Culture & lore	History Shasta "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26

Previous season

Offseason

Departures

Incoming

Roster

Schedule and results

See also

References